Hank Shaw's Blog, page 70

Some days you remember forever. This tuna fishing trip was one of them. I spent a couple days, 40 miles off North Carolina, in search of tuna. We found them. Oh yes, people, we found them... and with the trimmings of those great fish, I made these Sicilian meatballs.

Here's how to make prickly pear syrup without the sticky business of scorching and peeling the tunas, as the fruit are called. It's all in how you strain the juice...

Classic Oaxacan chiles rellenos, made with dove meat in the picadillo filling. OMG this was so worth the effort! And you can do this recipe with pretty much any meat you have on hand.

No other small game animal has evaded me like the blue grouse of the Western High Country. But persistence, and a healthy bit of luck, can pay off -- even at 8500 feet.

I rarely breast out doves, but when I do I typically make this recipe. It's German jagerschnitzel, only done with dove breasts. And since chanterelles are popping in several parts of the country right now, it's a great time to make this classic.

Dove season opens tomorrow, and while I dearly love grilling doves, I like fried doves almost as much. Deep frying them sets a nice crust on the outside while leaving the meat pink near the bone.

Deer hunting in California's vast coastal A Zone is a chancy affair. It had been six years since I'd tagged a buck in this area, but I had to give it a go again this year. It was a hunt I will never forget.

Goa is a part of India that was once controlled by Portugal, and this curry is an amalgam of the two cultures. Any firm fish will work here, but I tend to use lingcod or striped bass.

I am lucky enough to have feral little tomatillos grow in my garden, and so each year I make a big batch of Mexican tomatillo salsa verde. I eat some fresh, but the rest I can for the winter. This is a canning-safe recipe.

Manzanita berries are ripening all over California right now, but few know that they are not only edible, but are well worth your time to collect. The secret? Grind the dry, apple-like berries to make a sort of manzanita sugar.